ARGENTINA: Gov’t Attempts to Ease Impact of Energy Crisis on Consumers

The Argentine government barely had time to celebrate last year's 8.7 percent rise in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) before it came up hard against an energy crisis that threatens to curb growth this year, and could even hurt President Néstor Kirchner's popularity.

IRAQ: War Launched to Protect Israel – Bush Adviser

Iraq under Saddam Hussein did not pose a threat to the United States but it did to Israel, which is one reason why Washington invaded the Arab country, according to a speech made by a member of a top-level White House intelligence group.

RIGHTS-BRAZIL: Indians Press Their Case in Inter-American Commission

Brazil's first female indigenous lawyer, Joenia Batista de Carvalho, was not even born yet when her people began to fight for the formal demarcation of the Raposa Sierra del Sol Reserve in the northern Brazilian state of Roraima, which borders Venezuela and Guyana.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: Clerics Join Forces Against Hunger and Violence

"Deliver us from evil", a simple prayer from the Book of Matthew in the New Testament – yet one that resonated powerfully in Zimbabwe this weekend.

AFGHANISTAN: NGOs Urge Donors to Focus on Rights, Security, Drugs

Days before an international donors' meeting, aid agencies are insisting the world community answer a call for billions of dollars to help rebuild war-ravaged Afghanistan, whose planned June elections were postponed Sunday because of security concerns.

HEALTH-SWAZILAND: A Positive Spin-off From the AIDS Crisis

It may be a dim silver lining to a particularly dark cloud, but one apparent result of the AIDS pandemic in Swaziland is that fewer people in the country are smoking.

POLITICS-EU: Divisions Lurk Beneath Apparent Unity

While the mood in Europe appears to be one of unity and determination following the Madrid terrorist attacks, leaders recognise the challenges ahead.

POLITICS: Islamic Worlds Take a Step Closer

Grudges last a long time in this part of the world, but two regional giants appear on the verge of putting it all behind them.

TAIWAN-CHINA: Reunification Goal Fast Becoming Fiction

Beijing still preaches brotherhood and cultural kinship with ''Taiwanese compatriots'' whom it calls the fellow descendants of the Yellow Emperor, but the emergence of an assertive Taiwanese identity is making the idea of re-unification between China and Taiwan an obsolete remnant of a bygone era.

POLITICS-EUROPE: Left Win is Short of a Left Turn

The landslide victory of a leftist coalition in the French regional elections Sunday duplicates the success of the Socialist Labour Party in Spain two weeks ago, but is unlikely set a political trend in Europe.

SOUTH ASIA: Sports Beats Politics in Making Headway in Peace

Sports often supercedes politics as a vibrant expression of the best that talented humans can offer, reflecting a nation's image, strength and national character. And sometimes, the struggle on the playing field can excite the worst passions that are otherwise manifested in combat on the battleground, escalating divisions and causing cleavages.

POLITICS: Islamic Worlds Take a Step Closer

Grudges last a long time in this part of the world, but two regional giants appear on the verge of putting it all behind them.

ENVIRONMENT-JAPAN: Big Business Warms to Energy Savings Plan

Environmentalists have long struggled to convince businesses to invest in energy conservation, but their hopes of succeeding are being raised by the growing appeal of a trading system in which companies can install expensive energy saving technology - and pay for it later.

LABOUR-THAILAND: Anti-Privatisation Protesters Show Their Strength

Thailand's rapidly expanding movement against privatisation is placing its faith in democracy to prove it has the edge over the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

POLITICS-NIGERIA: Little Excitement Over Local Government Elections

Low voter turnout, boycotts and a lack of ballot papers in various wards have marred local government elections in Nigeria, which took place on Saturday (Mar. 27) in 31 of the country's 36 states.

ENVIRONMENT: U.S. Seizes Opening for Ozone-Depleting Substance

The hole in the ozone layer risks looming larger after the world community agreed Friday to permit the United States and 10 other northern countries to continue using a pesticide that was supposed to be off-limits from 2005.

ECONOMY-SOUTH AFRICA: Land and Jobs Still Scarce for Blacks

As a group of visiting academics discovered, it takes just a quick trip to Soweto - a sprawling black township on the outskirts of Johannesburg - to be confronted with the problems that still plague South Africa, 10 years after the advent of democracy.

COLOMBIA: Protected Areas Threatened by Coca-Killing Herbicide

Fumigation with glyphosate herbicide in areas of Colombia that are protected for their biodiversity is part of the joint Colombian-U.S. effort to eradicate illegal drug crops. But it has come under fire for endangering the environment and the health of people who live in those areas.

HAITI: Caribbean Delays Recognising Government

Its seat was left empty for a two-day summit that ended Friday, but Haiti remained the main point of discussion by Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders, who insist there can be no lasting solution to the political crisis in the former French colony without their input.

POLITICS-SOUTH ASIA: New Pakistan-U.S. Ties Could Worsen Arms Race

While the United States is portraying its new relationship with Pakistan as one focused on its 'war against terrorism', analysts in India fear that this could end up stoking the arms race in South Asia.

HAITI: Caribbean Delays Recognising Government

Its seat was left empty for a two-day summit that ended Friday, but Haiti remained the main point of discussion by Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders, who insist there can be no lasting solution to the political crisis in the former French colony without their input.